Roses & Thorns: Conquer Read online

  Roses & Thorns: Conquer

  Bry Ann

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Epilogue

  Author Note

  Cut’s Story

  Other Books

  ROSES & THORNS: Conquer

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are

  products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any

  resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or

  used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the

  author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  ISBN – 978-0-9995318-9-1

  To everyone who has read, kept up with, and messaged me about these crazy characters, THANK YOU! Thank you so much. I hope you had as much fun reading their stories as I did writing them.

  I hope you guys enjoy Roses & Thorns: Conquer!

  Rose

  “Well, hello, Rose.”

  I feel sick as I stare into his dark eyes. He almost looks amused, but I know better. It’s a mask- a carefully constructed one.

  Dead.

  I’m supposed to be dead.

  My fingers spin around each other as I fidget beneath the table.

  “Hi,” I squeak. I feel so awkward. I know he won’t kill me, and I’ve already beaten death once, so I’m not afraid. I’m uncomfortable. I’m not the same girl I was a year ago. I lost everything that night. Blood. There was so much blood. I shattered. My heart split. It didn’t take much work to make Kev and my dad’s lackey think I was dead. I nearly was.

  After I was shot, Kev panicked. Flipped the fuck out. I remember my heart hurting for him through my daze. He wasn’t built for that kind of trauma. The gun was then turned to him. He was told to run and that if he didn’t, a girl named Lea would be next. Kev stared at me for too long. My foggy brain kept screaming run, run, run, but I couldn’t get the words out. I was bleeding out. Dying. It’s oddly peaceful, dying.

  The man came over, put his hands on my neck, and felt my slow pulse. He stood up and looked down at my broken body.

  “You’re not dead yet, but you will be. Your dad told me all about you. You’re weak. You won’t survive this.”

  He underestimated me.

  After he ridiculed me, he got to work cleaning up anything that could link the crime back to him, before eventually evacuating the scene. When he left, I somehow got my body to grab the cheap pay phone I snuck with me. It was one of Lacey’s old ones that still had some minutes left on it. I dialed 911 with bloody fingers.

  “H… help,” my raspy voice begged the operator. I gave him the address and passed out before he could respond. Or maybe he did and I don’t remember. I woke up again when the EMTs arrived, as I was being wheeled out on a stretcher. I told them I was in danger and to keep this quiet. They took precautions and took me to a different hospital, a smaller one outside of town. By the time the world found out what happened, my body was gone and no one knew where, or even if, I was alive.

  “Care to share where the hell you’ve been?”

  Some of the humor slips from his face as his eyes darken and zero in on me. His finger is tapping on the table with increasing force as each second passes.

  “I’ve been in treatment,” I whisper.

  His eyes widen and roam over the body I am not yet entirely comfortable with. Ashamed of, even. A bigger one. One that’s well-fed and monitored by a team of treatment professionals.

  “That explains a lot.”

  My cheeks heat, and I suddenly wish I could hide in a sweatshirt like Lacey always did. I miss her, but I can’t have her and my freedom. I chose my freedom.

  “I’m gonna need more,” the Boss snaps suddenly, jolting me out of my memories. “Do you realize the fucking hell you’ve put everyone through? Sven’s practically an alcoholic. A recovering alcoholic now, I guess. Lacey has not stopped looking for you. Every single damn day for a year or so, she’s holed herself up in that little computer room searching for you. Trying to get justice for your “murder.” After finally getting freedom, all she’s done is look for you! She’s damn near broken up with me over this, because I didn’t want to tell her that you were in fact alive until I confirmed it. I suspected you were alive the second Lacey let me start looking into this.”

  “How? I took precautions. I…”

  He looks at me from under his eyebrows like I’m some kind of idiot. “Do you get what I do for a living? If I couldn’t figure out the tricks of an average girl then I don’t deserve my position.”

  “How is Lacey?” I whisper.

  “You have no right to ask about her!”

  A sudden rush of heat floods my heart.

  “I never meant to hurt anyone. I…” My mouth forms a thin line. I’ve gone through too much to go through this shit again. “Look, the one and only reason I met with you today is to ask- no, to tell you not to tell anyone I’m alive. I can’t get wrapped up in this again. I’m working on myself, building my life. I can’t be dragged into the hell you call a life. The crime, the cold way you all destroy lives… I can’t do it anymore. I’ve seen too much of it, experienced too much... I almost died! Hell, you shot me too!”

  I stand, sending my chair sliding back behind me.

  “You owe me. I never deserved your bullet. This is me calling that in.”

  The buzzing energy that used to surround this man is calmer. I noticed it the second he walked in. He looks at peace. Not to be confused with docile or soft; the same dark, powerful aura surrounds him, but it’s completely different. I notice it more intensely as I stare him down.

  “I could never do that to Lacey. How could you even ask me to?”

  The appalled look on his face makes me feel awful. My leg is bouncing below me, but that’s the only thing giving away what I feel.

  “I can’t choose her and my health. I have to put myself first. I have to. You have secrets you want me to keep, too. Big ones. Ones I’ve left out of my therapy sessions up until now.”

  He stands abruptly and steps right into my space, eyes flaring.

  “Is that a threat?”

  “It doesn’t have to be.”

  His nostrils flare. His hand comes up quickly and jabs into my chest. “You have my word. For now. Until I have more leverage. Just remember this.” He comes so close that I’m forced to take a step back. “You are already dead. I don’t want to kill you, but don’t get me wrong. If I have to give up time with my wife and daughter because you didn’t keep your mouth shut, the bullet won’t miss.”

  He yanks his body away and stroms off to the door, still perfectly put together. I feel all the blood drain from my face. I can’t move. My feet are frozen.

  Wife?

  Daughter?

  Lacey. I wasn’t there for her for any of that.

  I run behind him.

  “Daughter?... Wife?” I call as he opens his car door.

  A dark smile crosses his face as he rounds on his heel.
/>   “Lacey and I got married, and we have a beautiful baby girl. You know, in hell. See you very soon, Rose.”

  He climbs in the car and speeds off without a second glance. The second he’s gone, tears fall.

  This is why I left that life.

  With shaking hands, I pull out my cell phone.

  Ring. Ring. Ring.

  “Maria speaking,” a perky voice answers.

  “Maria,” I choke.

  “Rose? Oh my god, are you okay? Where are you?”

  “I don’t know. A coffee shop in the middle of nowhere. I… agreed to meet with him. I need you.”

  Oddly enough, when I was healing in the hospital after my dad shot me, she was the first person I called.

  “I got you. Let’s meet at my place. Kay, babe?”

  “Okay, it’ll take me a bit. I’m far.”

  My voice sounds so pathetically broken.

  “Ugh, I hate those dickheads. They always do this to you. Stay on the phone. I’ll keep you occupied.”

  I can almost see her winking. Oh Jesus, Maria, what have you gotten yourself into now?

  “So I met up with Carl. Geez, what is it with little men having big egos and little dicks? I mean, not all, but seriously, I gave him the benefit of the doubt and sure enough… big ego, little dick.”

  “Maria,” I laugh, shaking my head.

  “What? It’s true!”

  “You’re a nut.”

  She starts to laugh loudly as I put my keys in the ignition.

  “Thanks, Maria, you’re like a ray of sunshine.”

  “Aww, stop. Let me keep distracting you.”

  Maria is the epitome of avoiding emotional moments. I’ve never seen the girl be anything other than bright and flowery.

  “Alright, I’m a little scared of what other stories you could possibly tell me. We just spoke a few days ago.”

  “Psh, a lot can happen in a few days. Seriously. Let me fill you in…”

  And this crazy chick does, until I get to her place where I cry on her shoulder. Of all the things hurting me, it’s the grey-eyed girl I abandoned that stings the most.

  I can’t decide if I did the right thing putting myself first, or if I became the very thing I’m afraid of.

  Boss

  “Goddamn it to fucking hell!”

  I slam my fist on the steering wheel. Lacey’s gonna fucking divorce me over this shit. But Rose is right; she knows too much, and I don’t have it in me to kill her. Once I get enough leverage on her, I can tell Sven and Lacey that she’s alive. Then maybe they can both get back to normal. I don’t know.

  I fucking hate this.

  By the time I get back to the house, I’m a ball of rage. I don’t know how to do this. I don’t keep shit from Lacey. It was hard enough keeping the fact that I thought she was alive under wraps. Knowing she’s alive is going to be nearly impossible to keep secret. But I know if I tell Lacey, no matter what I say, she’s gonna go find Rose. Until I find a way to keep Rose quiet, I can’t risk Rose opening her mouth.

  Damn Sven for roping her into all this.

  I stalk to my room and start jerking my tie off. I don’t like that that blonde woman has one over on me. That won’t last long. I jerk my buttons, letting my mind wander to Miguel Castello. What is he planning and what the hell is Lacey gonna do when she finds out? I spin around quickly when I sense someone behind me. Not in my fucking house! My fist flies up...

  “Woah, Adam!”

  A small, cold hand circles my fist before I can move. I’m immediately jerked back to reality. I throw my hand back down in horror. Lacey’s in front of me looking concerned, but not at all afraid. Rose, my daughter, is at my feet tugging on my pant leg, little hands clenching and unclenching.

  “Mommy. Mommy.”

  She means me. I want to storm off and get my head on straight, but I can’t say no to my little angel. I sigh and scoop her up in my arms. She giggles and snuggles into me. I tuck her into my shoulder so I can look at Lacey.

  “Are you okay?”

  Her eyes are squinted, fully focused on me, just like they are when she pulls out the first aid. All hints of the fight earlier are gone. She is purely worried for me, everything else forgotten. She’s scanning me head to toe, assessing for injuries, except this time it’s mental, not physical. I let my guilt show, but hide everything else behind my mask. I close my eyes. I almost hit her.

  “Lacey, I’m so sorry. I….”

  Lacey shakes her head and places a chaste kiss on my forehead. “You’re keeping a lot of secrets from me.”

  “No.” Fuck, I am. The Castellos. Rose. I trace my thumb down her cheek. “You have to trust me, little dove.”

  And that’s the best truth I can give her right now.

  “I trust you, but something’s going on with you. I’ve played with Rose pretty much the whole day. I’m going to go bring her to Luca’s. Mirial’s there watching their son, Radar. Rose and him play together.” Her lips curl up. “It’s really cute. Mirial will be happy to watch them.”

  Her cheeks turn bright red, but she looks in charge. That’s Lacey. Hard and soft. Dark and light. Yin and yang.

  “Then, um, we’re going to go out and we’re gonna talk.”

  She plucks Rose from my arms and leaves the room before I can say anything. Like a date? I don’t think we’ve ever done that before. Shit. I was supposed to do that before I married and impregnated her. I sigh and run a hand down my face. That explains why she was embarrassed. Lacey has trouble initiating that stuff. I’m so proud of her. I could fucking shout it to the world. She’s incredible.

  I don’t know when Lacey starting running things between us. I think it was after I saw her give birth to another human being, a human being I have come to love with everything left inside of me. I think I realized that if she can birth a human after all she’s been through, her plans are probably better than mine.

  I button my shirt back up and throw my tie back on. I check my emails. More shit. More orders. Just more, more, more. More families. More territories. More money. More enemies. More bloodshed. More bullshit.

  “Adam…”

  Lacey walks back in the room and wraps her arms around me.

  “Lacey, I almost hit you. You should…”

  “Be right here. You’d never hit me on purpose.”

  She pats my shoulder and pulls away. She ducks her head forward a bit so her hair falls in front of her face.

  “Do I look okay like this? Or… um, do you want me to change, since we’ll… well, be in public together?”

  What?

  I look over her all black outfit. The black skinny jeans and small black sweatshirt. Why do her clothes even matter?

  “Lacey...” I walk over and hold her sides. “I could never be embarrassed of you.”

  She looks up and graces me with a small smile. “Okay, but I want to change for you, though.” She gives my nose a quick peck. “I’ll be fast.”

  She scampers off. I shake my head and look at myself in the mirror. What the fuck am I gonna tell her? I’m running through variations of white lies when she comes up behind me.

  “Don’t punch me,” she teases.

  Her hands run up my back.

  “You really want to go out, Lacey? We can stay here.”

  Lacey’s overcome a lot, but I don’t think leaving the house will ever stop making her uncomfortable. That’s not why I’m trying to sway her the other way, though.

  “Adam, will you look at me?”

  I tighten my face and brace myself on the sink, not turning my gaze from the faucet.

  “Ruston!”

  Lacey moves her hand from my back to grab my shoulder with surprising strength. Lacey has gotten so strong. It’s unreal. The smooth skin I once knew has morphed into hard muscle. She’s still a small girl, but she’s a fucking strong, small girl now.

  Finally, I turn to her, perfectly composed. The look of worry on her face only increases.

  “I wish I could get the firs
t aid kit and fix this.”

  I give her a sad smile.

  “Me too, little dove.”

  She pulls away and leads me out of the room. When she’s a couple steps ahead of me, I look her up and down and freeze.

  “Lacey, what the fuck are you wearing?!”

  She smiles, a rare full smile, and looks down at the floor.

  “I look pretty.”

  Fuck, what do I say to that? When a girl so haunted with demons sees her beauty. I melt on the spot and walk in front of her, eyes heated.

  “You look perfect. Fuck, Lacey.”

  I scan her from head to toe. She’s wearing an off the shoulder long sleeve black dress that only goes to her upper thigh. Underneath, she has block stockings, paired with flat leather boots. She looks… I don’t know the right word. Normal? No. She’s always been normal. Beautiful? Womanly? I’ve never found her anything other than that.

  Free? She looks free.

  “If you want to go somewhere, you’d better lead the way, because I already have other plans in mind.”

  My gaze is heated as I trace along her collarbone. She shivers and curls away. She slides her hand through mine and pulls me to the door. When we get to the end of the hall, she stops and turns to me, a small smile in place.

  “Thank you for looking at me like that. I was… scared, and you make me feel beautiful.”

  She smiles with red cheeks. I shake my head.

  “It’s not a conscious choice I make, babe, but you walk out in an outfit like that, I’m gonna stare at you like I want to fuck you.”

  I shrug simply, because it’s true. Lacey’s gasp makes me chuckle. I rarely talk to her like this, scared how she’ll take it, but it came so naturally tonight. It’s never just the two of us anymore, and with her dressed like this, so free, it feels natural to express what I want to do to her without a filter. Her face morphs from shock to humor.